The official sector has moved swiftly to assist the poorer countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, under the banner of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.  Will private sector creditors follow suit? The G20 "called upon" commercial creditors to provide comparable forbearance but did not mandate it. In response, the private sector has offered an impressive list of the reasons why a temporary deferral of payments to commercial creditors will be time-consuming, expensive and possibly very damaging to the debtor countries requesting it. This column discusses the challenges in attempting to coordinate wholly voluntary private sector debt relief for sovereigns afflicted by the pandemic.